A Linglei’s Life in China

Travel Blog  •  Eva Holland  •  04.26.10 | 12:08 PM ET

The Millions has a compelling essay about a Chinese-American novelist’s life as a linglei —a “different species”—in Beijing and Shanghai. Deanna Fei writes:

I’d moved to Beijing for a year of postgraduate study with some notions of mastering my mother tongue and reclaiming my heritage. I hadn’t expected to feel at home, but I hadn’t anticipated feeling quite so alien. Like most Asian Americans, I’d always been asked the question, “Where are you from?” with the expected answer being China, or someplace equally foreign. Now, this question was asked even more relentlessly of me by Chinese people in China, but the answer never satisfied them. But you don’t look American, they might say—or, You don’t sound Chinese. They’d assure me that I wasn’t really American, even as their suspicious expressions made clear that I certainly wasn’t really Chinese.

Tags: Expat Life, Travel Writing, Asia, China, Beijing, Shanghai, News and Briefs

Eva Holland is co-editor of World Hum. She is a former associate editor at Up Here and Up Here Business magazines, and a contributor to Vela. She's based in Canada's Yukon territory.


2 Comments for A Linglei’s Life in China

Julia Ross 04.26.10 | 1:49 PM ET

I *loved* this piece- very honest.

Grizzly Bear Mom 04.27.10 | 11:46 AM ET

When I was young men asked where I was from so they would know which langauge to use when trying to pick me.  Now when they ask I assume its because they want to know me better, not because I am a blue eyed blonde.

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